Once upon a time, the Edinburgh festival fringe was all about finding the next big thing in Hungarian experimental theatre. Now, its integrity has disappeared as commercialism reigns, personified by big-name performers familiar from TV, such as Jimmy Carr, Ricky Gervais and Frank Skinner. That, at least, is the complaint from those who believe that household name comedy is drowning out more pioneering art.

But yesterday the organiser of the if.comedy awards, the successor to the Perrier, defended the essentially uncontrolled nature of the Edinburgh fringe, and comedy's place within it.

"People are asking, 'Why is comedy taking away from the fringe,' said Nica Burns at the if.comedy awards annual luncheon. "Bollocks. It's not. It is adding to the fringe."

The statistics tell the story; in 2005 there were 435 comedy shows at the fringe; last year 566; and this year there are 630.

Ms Burns defended stand-up's role as a valid artform, arguing that its current dominance was simply a case of it taking its rightful place in the cultural ecosystem after a long period on the wane. The rise of television had ensured the decline of vaudeville, she said - a trend reversed by the emergence of alternative comedy in the 80s. "We are back where we were, with comedy and light entertainment central to live performance," she said. "If comedy wasn't wanted people wouldn't come. And people do, in their droves."

She denied that stand-up in Edinburgh was cynical and profiteering, praising the appearance of big names such as Gervais and Skinner. "The fact that Skinner is charging £11.50 in the 100-seat venue where he won the Perrier certainly doesn't seem cynical to me."

Responding to suggestions that the fringe should be smaller, or given some kind of curatorial direction, she applauded its historic freedom from control. "The magic of the fringe is that it did it from day one all by itself, from the very first opportunistic performers who came up here.

"To those who want more regulation, I say, bollocks."

For those who fear that big box-office comedy is taming the experimental spirit of the fringe, one possible solution is to showcase particular streams of work.

Proponents of this approach argue it would draw attention to pieces that might otherwise be drowned out by the sound and fury of a fringe that stages 2,000 shows during August, and whose brochure is the size and weight of a telephone directory.

Jon Morgan, the new director of the fringe, who has spoken of the need to protect the space for adventurous theatre and dance, praised the biennial British Council theatre showcase at the festival.

It was introduced 10 years ago to show overseas producers emerging British theatre in order to promote foreign touring and now supports 30 or so productions. The British Council logo next to an entry in a festival brochure is seen as a mark of quality.

This year the showcase includes Low Life, a puppet show about "the lives of action-hero plumbers"; SuperJumbo, in which performer Richard DeDomenici recreates an Airbus 380 inside a flat; and Etiquette, in which the audience of just two become the performers, as they sit together in a cafe responding to instructions given to them via headphones.

Mr Morgan said: "I entirely endorse what Nica has to say. It is not that the existence of comedy threatens theatre and dance, just that I don't want to see theatre and dance lost from the mix."